Exploring the racial and gendered dimensions of Québecois secularism

This paper explores the specificity of Québec's secularism policies, practices and approach from a Critical Race Theory lens and problematizes apparent contradictions.

The recent passing of Bill 21 in Québec necessitates a re-examination of state secularism laws given the discriminatory impact on religious minorities, particularly veiled Muslim women. Specifically, this paper challenges the idea that these laws work to safeguard women's rights and argues that it indirectly accomplishes the opposite. An analysis of the political context highlights the centrality of secularism to conceptions of Québec'ss national identity, while the historical context reveals a complex relationship between Catholicism, religion, identity and secularism. Secularism measures from the past 15 years have carried significant racial and gendered undertones and has relied on a racializing discourse of the Islamic veil. This discourse is contextualized within the specific context of post-9/11 securitization where Islamophobia and anti-Muslim racism have become normalized.